RAINE'
The motel room smelled like stale cigarettes and desperation. I watched Cole sleep for a few minutes longer than I should have, memorizing the lines of his face, the rise and fall of his chest, the fresh bandage on his shoulder. Every breath felt borrowed. My father had put a price on his head, and part of me—the part that had grown up under Vex Mercer’s roof—knew exactly how ugly this would get.
I slipped out of bed and dressed quietly. Isla was waiting in the next room, face drawn as she changed the injured woman’s bandages.
“She’s stable,” my sister said without looking up. “But we can’t stay here past noon. Word’s spreading too fast.”
I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. “We hit the warehouse tonight and the rest of the women before they ship them out.”
Isla final
